U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi met face-to-face for the first time this year on Thursday and Wang said they discussed ways to promote China-U.S. ties despite “recent disturbances”.
The words contrasted with the scorn Chinese officials have heaped on Pompeo recently, with U.S.-Chinese ties souring on multiple fronts, from a trade war to U.S. sanctions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to Taiwan and the South China Sea.
“There may be at various times issues and problems between China and the United States, but no matter how many problems it is important for both sides to sit down and have face-to-face discussions,” Wang said after the meeting of roughly 30 minutes.